EGFR-mutant Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
Lung cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer in the world and is notoriously difficult to treat. Approximately 230,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer in the U.S. every year and almost triple that number are diagnosed in China (approx. 600,000 individuals). Furthermore, an estimated 1.7 million people die of lung cancer every year, making it the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. New treatments for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common for lung cancer, are therefore urgently needed.
Typically, targeted therapies act on specific proteins that have become altered (mutated) and are not functioning properly within the cancer. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is found to be mutated in 10-15% of Caucasian and as many as 50% of Asian patients with lung cancer.
Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) can inhibit the mutated EGFR, stopping cells from dividing, and blocking or reducing tumor growth.
Mutations in the EGFR protein cause cells to divide uncontrollably. Drugs known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) can inhibit mutated EGFR, stopping cells from dividing, and thereby blocking or reducing cancer growth. While several TKIs are available to treat EGFR-mutant NSCLC, these drugs are not effective in all patients. Furthermore, NSCLC cells often develop mechanisms to bypass the anti-cancer effects of some TKIs so the drugs become ineffective in patients . Consequently, new drugs are needed to expand NSCLC patient population that can benefit from an effective treatment.
For more information, please visit:
American Cancer Society: Lung Cancer »
National Institute of Health: Lung Cancer »
American Lung Cancer Association »
For detailed information about completed and ongoing clinical studies for Abivertinib (AC0010), ACEA’s EGFR-inhibitor, please visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.